Do you love scallops?? They seem to be a bit of a love them/hate them item.  I fell in love with them a couple of years ago when we were staying in Rhode Island, there were fresh scallops for sale all over the place and I was dishing them up for breakfast, lunch and dinner!  

This is such a summery party dish which looks impressive but is actually very easy to make. There are a fewsteps involved, most of which can be completed ahead of time leaving only aquick sear of the scallops just before serving. The minty freshness of the peapuree is a lovely contrast to the richness of the scallops, a tiny piece ofcrispy prosciutto and a drizzle of balsamic reduction finishes it off nicely. If you're a scallops lover, give this a try.

 Pan Seared Scallops on a Minted PeaPuree with Crispy Prosciutto.

8scallops
2tablespoons unsalted butter
Ahealthy splash of white wine
1packet of frozen peas
4oz chicken stock
3tablespoons unsalted butter
1tablespoon heavy cream
Seasalt and freshly ground black pepper
Generoussprig of fresh mint
1piece of prosciutto
Balsamicvinegar reduction, homemade or ready made from the supermarket

Placethe prosciutto in a pan with a dash of olive oil and fry until crispy.  Set aside. When it’s cool, break into smallpieces.

Tomake the pea puree, place the peas, chicken stock and butter in a saucepan,heat to a simmer and cook until the peas are bright green and cookedthrough. 

Transferthe peas and a tablespoon or so of the stock to a blender and blitz untilsmooth, adding more stock to produce a smooth sauce, stir in the tablespoon ofcream and add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Patthe scallops dry with a piece of paper towel and season with salt and pepper.Heat the butter in a pan until foaming on a high heat.  Place the scallops in the pan and allow thescallops to brown on one side, then flip over to brown the other side, about2-3 minutes per side.  Add the wine tothe pan allow to bubble furiously for a minute or so, remove the pan from heat.

Toserve, spoon the pea puree on a plate, place the scallops on the puree, topwith a sliver of the prosciutto and drizzle the balsamic reduction over thetop.